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Who knew you could make easy sourdough brownies with sourdough starter? These sourdough chocolate brownies have a rich chocolate flavor and fudgy centers. Adding sourdough starter (or discard) to brownies gives them a lovely sour tang which pairs perfectly with the sweet chocolatey goodness.
Sourdough brownies taste like regular brownies – only way better! These brownies have a crackly top (essential for good brownies if you ask me!). It’s almost like meringue in texture. I love eating these slightly warm, topped with the best quality vanilla bean ice cream and sprinkled with tart raspberries – perfection!
Why You’ll Love These Brownies
- One Bowl Brownies – You need one bowl and a brownie tin – that’s it! Nothing fancy, no stand mixer, no complex techniques. Just a bowl, a whisk and spatula … but wow will you get a fancy result!
- Economical Ingredients – I created this recipe specifically to use more cocoa than chocolate. Chocolate gets expensive and we love brownies too much to only have them on special ocassions!
If you prefer your brownies blonde, try these sourdough blondies! You might also like these sourdough chocolate brownie bites!
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour – whatever all purpose flour you have on hand will work for this. You don’t need a lot because too much flour will make your sourdough brownies cakey.
- White Granulated Sugar – now don’t be frightened of the amount of sugar in this sourdough brownies recipe. I have tested this recipe countless times with less sugar and it just doesn’t work. Trust me on this!
- Salt – salt is essential to cut through the sweetness. I actually add 5g to my sourdough brownies because I love salt, but I’ve listed a little less in the recipe below as I know not everyone loves salt like I do!
- Baking Powder – go easy on the baking powder. Too much baking powder will mean your sourdough brownies will rise on the edges and then sink in the middle, so stick to the recipe on this one.
- Cocoa Powder & Chocolate Chips – Using both cocoa powder and chocolate chips gives them a rich and fudgy centre that just can’t be beaten! I’ve used regular cocoa powder from the grocery store and semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can use Dutch Processed cocoa powder if you prefer.
- Melted Butter – I’ve used salted butter but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Eggs – I’ve used 2 large eggs. If your eggs are small, use 3. Mine are from my backyard chickens so they tend to be on the large side. Make sure your eggs are room temperature and not cold as this will help them to combine with the other ingredients more easily.
- Vanilla Extract
- Sourdough Starter – you can use sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard, it’s up to you. I prefer using sourdough starter or sourdough discard at room temperature, not straight from the fridge. Using sourdough starter in this recipe really rounds out these chocolate brownies. I find traditional brownies can be overly rich, but using sourdough starter seems to round out this richness and adds a more complex flavor profile to this dessert. You could even make this chocolate sourdough starter and use it in these brownies or use this sourdough brownie batter to make sourdough brookies!
How To Make Sourdough Brownies?
I always make these sourdough brownies with one bowl, mixing dry ingredients together first and then adding the wet ingredients on top. I usually start mixing right in the middle, swirling the eggs and sourdough starter together before I stir outwards and combine them with the rest of the ingredients. Saves washing up.
Kate’s Pro Tip
If your sourdough starter is very thick
I recommend mixing the wet ingredients together first and then adding it to the dry ingredients. If the starter is too thick it won’t combine well and you might end up with chunks of cooked sourdough starter through the recipe. This isn’t what you want in these fudgy brownies.
This brownie batter is really thick. Don’t panic, it’s meant to be like this. It’s usually so thick that I have to spread it to the edges of my pan with a spatula.
Once the sourdough brownie mixture is spread into your prepared pan, bake for 35 minutes at 160ºC/320ºF. Check the sourdough brownies at 35 minutes by inserting a tooth pick – you want it to come out wet still but they should be crackly and baked on top.
Kate’s Pro Tip
Don’t overcook the brownies
They are better undercooked than over! If you like them super fudgy, reduce the cooking time by a few minutes and remove from the oven when they are still wobbly in the middle. If you insert a skewer in – it should come out covered in batter! If you prefer them more cakey then cook them until the skewer comes out mostly clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares.
In my opinion, these sourdough brownies always taste better the next day! They need time for the flavors to meld and I swear they get more fudgy after being left alone for a day.
Recipe Testing Notes
This recipe has been tested too many times for me to count! It’s a recipe I included in my book, Easy Sourdough On Any Schedule, so it’s not only been tested for the blog, it was then tested again, before it made it to the book. Not to mention it’s one of my family’s favorite desserts, so I make it at least a few times a month! A few things I’ve observed while testing and experimenting with this recipe:
- You definitely want to make sure you add an extra egg if your eggs are less than 50 grams each. Mine are on average 60-70 grams each.
- Don’t be too liberal with the baking powder. Definitely 3 grams only, no more!
- This recipe works in a 9″ x 9″ pan, as well as an 8″ x 8″ pan. I think I prefer it in a smaller pan as the brownies are thicker and thus a little fudgier, but honestly, they taste great in either.
- When updating this recipe, I did play around with brown sugar, but I didn’t like the texture it created so I’ve stuck with granulated sugar.
Flavor Variations
There are so many ways you can make this sourdough brownies recipe suit your own brownie tastes! Here are some ideas to for your next brownie bake!
- Mix through some white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts instead of the semi sweet chocolate chips. Drizzle with homemade caramel sauce once cooled.
- Add a tablespoon of cinnamon and teaspoon of ginger to the dry ingredients. Crush up sourdough biscoff cookies and push them into the batter before baking. Or for something truly decadent, try these spiced sourdough brownies.
- Add a shot of espresso to the batter and top with pecans before baking.
- Push a punnet of fresh raspberries or blueberries into the batter before you bake the brownies.
- Dust with powdered sugar once the sourdough brownies have cooled completely.
- If you love peanut butter, why not try these sourdough peanut butter brownies.
- Combine these sourdough brownies with sourdough chocolate chip cookies and create the ultimate sourdough brookies!
How To Store & Freeze
On The Counter – Sourdough brownies will last for around 7 days in an airtight container. I’ve had better luck keeping them in a tin lined with parchment paper than plastic.
In The Freezer – You can freeze them. Wrap in parchment paper and then in tin foil and freeze. It’s better to freeze them as a whole “cake” rather than cut before freezing. To defrost, allow them to sit on the counter until thawed through. Warm slightly before serving (microwave is fine).
Sourdough Brownies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Square Brownie Pan 9" x 9"
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 150 g All Purpose Flour
- 380 g Granulated Sugar
- 65 g Cocoa Powder
- 3 g Salt
- 3 g Baking Powder
- 100 g Chocolate Chips, (I've used semi sweet)
Wet Ingredients
- 120 g Butter, (melted)
- 2 Eggs, (large eggs are best, if using small eggs add 3)
- 5 g Vanilla Extract
- 120 g Sourdough Starter, (can be unfed or active and bubbly)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Grab a 9" x 9" brownie pan – it's up to you whether you grease the pan with butter or line it with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, add the all purpose flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.
- Place the chocolate chips in the bowl and mix until they are all coated in the flour mixture.
- On top of the dry ingredients, add the melted butter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract and sourdough starter. Using a spatula, gently mix all of the wet and dry ingredients together, ensuring that the sourdough starter is well combined (see notes for more info on this).This is a thick brownie mixture – that’s ok, it’s meant to be like this.
- Place the sourdough brownie mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes at 160ºC/320ºF. Because this is a thick mixture, you might need to push the mixture out to the edges of the pan before placing it in the oven.
- Check the sourdough brownies at 35 minutes by inserting a tooth pick – you want it to come out wet still but they should be crackly and baked on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Rate and comment below!
Just made these and they are delicious! I followed the recipe to the letter and they came out perfect. I am new to sourdough and didn’t want to throw out my discard so I am happy I have something to make with it now 🙂
These are absolutely the best brownies and as an American I’m an expert ; )
very true about these being better the next day. The fudginess is irresistable. I’ve made this recipe twice and I overbaked it the second time. They still tasted good but definitely didn’t have the fudgey factor.
The brownies were super moist and fudgie. I was surprised by the amount of cocoa but I was surprised by the amount of sugar. Oh well, these brownies were not made as a diet food!
Look this site! So many fantastic recipes!
I tried these and they are super fudgy and amazing! However, I baked them for 45 minutes. The top seemed done and the toothpick came out wet; but after cooking, they are so moist they were impossible to cut up nicely to be served to guests. Are they supposed to be so gooey or do I need to cook them even longer?
I recommend making these the day before you want to serve them, this helps the flavors meld and the brownie to set 🙂 They are very fudgy, but should still be able to be cut into nice squares 🙂
Amazing brownies! I followed the recipe, only I added 3g of instant coffee to the dry mix to add more chocolaty flavor. I also sprinkled extra chocolate chips on top before baking. They came out super rich and fudgy. Will definitely make them again
I recently purchased some sourdough starter from a local baker. I made my first sourdough loaf of bread which came out great. I then found Kate’s site and decided to try the sourdough brownies with some of the extra starter. They didn’t have a tang taste from the sourdough, however, my husband and I agreed they are probably the best brownies I have ever made. They had the perfect chew and the chocolate flavor was awesome. I had tried making starter years ago and gave up because there was only so much bread I wanted to make and I didn’t like the waste of all the discard. However, with all the info available today, I have learned so much more. Later today I am going to try the sourdough pasta and in the near future, the sourdough meatballs. Thank you Kate for opening up my world to the new adventures available with sourdough!!
That’s wonderful, Linda! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review. Hope you find lots of inspiration here. 🙂